What to Expect From Apple's Upcoming 2022 iPhone SE 5G

[snipr125]

I hope they won't do this (FaceID), but a move to the side (TouchID on the powerbutton) for a larger screen, that would be fine for me.

Having multiple devices, I still like the physical home-button (could be smaller) and the absense of a flood-illuminator / lidar on my eyes.

Yes I totally agree with you, power button Touch ID like the Ipad air 4/ Mini 6 please. I cannot use Face ID, I turned it off on my 12 mini as the sensors hurt/ put pressure on my eyes but usually when I mention this on Macrumours, I get laughed at.

 

[Spacedust]

5G modem means no way to force 3G which still works well here in Poland and doesn't drain battery as much as LTE or 5G.

 

[urnotl33t]

I don’t care about 5G, I just want a headphone jack. Sticking to my SE 1 for now, but down the line… maybe it’s goodbye to Apple.

Lightning to phono. It works even on 2016 SE like yours and mine. Solutions exist.

Edit: either lightning to phono plug, or lightning to phono jack. Or even Bellkin's lightning to phono jack+lightning jack for audio and charging. Sure, a little more ridiculous, but still doable.

Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable (1.2m) - Black

Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable 1.2m Black - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

store.apple.com

Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

store.apple.com

Belkin 3.5 mm Audio + Charge Rockstar

Belkin 3.5 mm Audio + Charge Rockstar

The Belkin 3.5 mm Audio + Charge RockStar offers dual functionality for charging and listening to your iPhone or iPad. Buy online now at apple.com.

store.apple.com

 

[Mactech20]

„which is modeled after the ‌iPhone‌ 8“

Are you getting payed by Apple for whitewashing this outdated design? This phone is not modeled after the iPhone 8 design. It is modeled after the iPhone 6 design which is now eight years old.

Saying modeled after the 6 is a stretch. the 6 and 7 had serious differences, even physical ones. It's modeled after the iPhone 7. Not that 6 years is much better!

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Nonsense rumors.

Most obvious thing is that this “5G new iPhone SE” will use the iPhone XR/11 chassis and not iPhone 6-8. Common sense.

I hope you’re right. But Apple would infuriate investors if this 5G SE 2022 is a XR/11 with FaceID, A15 and 5G and starting at $399:

This would instantly murder basically all sales of a slew of contemporary iPhones that still have very strong sales, like SE 2020 and iPhone 11, and even many 12 and 12/13 mini sales simply due to this SE 2022 would have a bigger display and/or a better A15 chip and insane value at $399 by comparison.

Absolutely not “common sense“, this would be genuinely exciting and surprising and very much unlike Apple under Tim Cook.

I would only expect Apple to do this if anything older than iPhones 13 had abysmal sales which is very far from what Apple is reporting in their latest sales numbers.

Plenty of people are still sitting on iPhones older than X and 8 and would not hesitate to get a SE 2022 if Apple does nothing but give it a A15 chip and 5G in the iPhone 8 design for the same $399 that they always do.

Why would Apple go out of its way to do anything more than whats enough to get people to upgrade?

The worlds fastest and most efficient smartphone cpu, the A15 chip, and 5G modems for just $399 is a good deal in almost any old iPhone design and Apple is very aware of this.

Apple would make many, many times more by doing another upgrade to the iPhone 8 instead of flexing on us with an iPhone 11 with A15 and 5G and Face-ID. Too big value by comparison to A13 iPhone 11, iPhones 12, and even iPhones 13 to some extent (why get a 13 mini for $699 if you can get an new 11 with a bigger display but the same A15 and 5G but coming in at just $399?)

 

[Zaft]

These are used as work phones for a lot of employers. I worked for several city agencies in NYC and these low cost iPhones are almost primarily used as work phones.

 

[deconstruct60]

It's worth noting that with the iPhone 13 models, the fastest mmWave 5G speeds are limited to the United States, and that's likely to be the case with the iPhone SE as well should it support mmWave speeds.

We haven't really heard either way if Apple plans to limit the more affordable iPhones to sub-6GHz networks, but it seems unlikely.

The chassis and antenna arrays of the iPhone 13 were designed for mmWave. The iPhone 8 chassis was not. Apple would have to deploy additional antennas for mmWave for which wouldn't be provisioned by the basic design they are using.

That isn't a clear bet. Vast majority of the rest of the world they are selling with the mmWave turned off and people are still buying. The major "hot" 5G deployment in the USA right now is in the C band , not mmWave. C band mostly overlaps with sub6 5G and has better range than mmWave.
Suburbs and most cities folks won't miss mmWave during most of their mobile travels.

Leaving out mmWave also helps Apple hit the lower price point. Since these very likely are Qualcomm modems there is a surcharge for the mmWave functionality if it is active. If Apple is holding the price point, I would not beat on Apple "eating" the additional cost. And if it came down between spending on U1 (or some other Apple specific wireless ) and mmWave then Apple would probably bet on their own stuff.

If does squeeze mmWave in there somehow, I won't be shocked if the real life performance is relatively poor versus the other , modern iPhones. Payiing more for a spec sheet checkmark than for something that will actually be a value add.

 

[deconstruct60]

Nonsense rumors.

Most obvious thing is that this “5G new iPhone SE” will use the iPhone XR/11 chassis and not iPhone 6-8. Common sense.

Not if Apple is trying to shave costs ( i.e., keep same or lower price point with just as high margins) and also plan to kill off the iPhone mini .

For a somewhat long time the iPhone 8 chassis was the "small phone" option. Apple cranking the costs up and going FaceID only with the 12/13 mini did not work as well as they wanted to. If they kill off the mini then once again still need a "small phone" in their line up. The XR/11 are not a small phone option. If Apple wanted to do a "SE Plus" then perhaps. But that would run into the one and two year old mainstream iPhone models dropping in price toward retirement.

The SE 2nd gen isn't small enough for many super "small phone" fans, but it is much closer to fitting the bill than an XR/11 chassis. Apple could just keep selling the iPhone 11 with $50 knocked off. They do not really need to do a name change.


If the Mini had worked out then Apple more likely would have rotated that one down to the bottom of the line up. Looks like they are going to do a "reset" on doing a smaller , more affordable phone.

 

[deconstruct60]

Isn’t there a standard speed for 5G? The carriers should be sued for even promoting it as “nationwide.”

There wasn't a standard speed for 4G so 5G isn't going to be any different. There are a range of frequencies that all fall under the general umbrella tag of "5G". The bandwidth isn't going to be same across all of those.

Verizon’s 5G UW should be available everywhere… Not just in the downtown section of cities.

the mmWave "Ultra Band" range is pretty low and can be blocked by a wall with reasonable insulation. There is no way that should be the principle care "backbone" to a mobile phone network.

It makes sense for home delivery of Internet ( compete with cable and fiber fixed point internet ) and for high dense pack social venues ( e.g., tK people trying to tik-tok during a sports event venue. )

But "should be" that's up there with "should be" multiple gigabit fiber to everyone's home. Not going to happen any time soon.

If 5G UW isn’t feasible because of interference, a strong 5G single on a different band should be available as a secondary measure, but still provide much faster speeds than what 4G did.

Don't really need a single "superman" band. Part of the problem is the 2G-3G stuff is sitting on frequencies that better , newer tech (i.e., 5G encodings and protocols ) could be more bandwidth out of. So repurposes the "old" bands with new 5G protocols/tech will provision more bandwidth.

Also adding C band ( which is closer to old 2G-3G ) , but that too is "kicking other stuff off of it" to repurpose it.

I’m not understanding why standard 5G is slower than 4G speeds… It’s pathetic and embarrassing.

Standard 5G isn't any slower if the load factor on the tower is the same. Have to separate out congestion from 4G/5G. 5G won't magically cure congestions problems if everyone around a tower mostly get 5G phones and then start to do more. Likewise some of the efforts to deploy "Home internet" will also claw back some of the "free space" of 'extra' bandwidth 5G deploys. You can build a wider freeway but if dump 30K more cars a day on it then it won't necessarily cure a traffic jam problem.

 

[jimimac71]

I’d rather eat dirt than spend $399 on a phone.
As much as I hate my iPad experience, why spend money on yet another annoying Apple product.
While it is either Apple or Samsung for a tablet, there are plenty of other options for a smartphone.

 

[KOTN91]

Coming from the SE1, I am kind of stuck between the rumored SE3 and the 13 Mini for my next iPhone.

My SE1 is getting older, so I would like to get something new. I really dislike the design of the SE2/Rumored SE3, and it is a little too big than what I want, but I like Touch ID and the cheaper (rumored) price is nice.

I like the design of the 13 Mini, and the size of it will be closer to the SE1, but think I will miss Touch ID.

I think I am leaning towards the iPhone 13 Mini.

Maybe time to embrace vaguely new tech and not yearn after the level of the iPhone 5S

 

[deconstruct60]

5G modem means no way to force 3G which still works well here in Poland and doesn't drain battery as much as LTE or 5G.

Qualcomm x60 "5G" modem is backward compatible with 3G. iPhone 13 specs

"...

• CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)
• UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• .

...."

iPhone

Designed for Apple Intelligence. Discover the iPhone 16e along with iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16, and iPhone 15.

www.apple.com

The x60 modem is a Samsung 6nm which is better than the 1st and 2nd generation 5G modems.
It is also "2 years old" ( there is a newer x65 now ) or there is a "x62" ( also newer but slower max throughput for a lower cost which is built on 4nm ). The x62 (along with skipping mmWave which isn't on in poland anyway) could be an option that Apple could use to save both cost and power. [ could be x60 also as volume discounts that drove the A15 to the update also; use a subset of parts from high volume iPhone. ]

There is no explicit option to ignore 4/5G if a strong signal is present and self-cap the phone to only 3G, but there is a "Low Data Mode" option which will cap lots of background data usage. If using the same amount of data ( not letting video quality or grabbing bigger stuff) then 4/5G will turn off faster than the 3G for a primary direct usage. The phone and the apps tend to use more data on 5G than if worried about "narrow tube" on 3G to pull data down. (e.g., apps that track your personal data do more uploads , screen bigger so go full HD , etc. )

Not sure how much bandwidth on the spectrum is being squeezed in Poland , but 3G isn't going to be around forever if there is substantive uptick there.

P.S. On 3G in europe context there:

3G’s Sun is Setting in Europe

More and more wireless operators in Europe are announcing plans to switch off their 3G networks to free up spectrum for newer, faster 4G and 5G services.

blog.telegeography.com

Sell a phone in 2022 that is going to loose 3G in 2023 ... doesn't make much sense. If the SE is revised this years Apple is pretty likely to squat on the update for at least 2 years. Which means this phone's service life is out past 2024-2026. Optimizing it for 3G doesn't make sense.

 

[trip1ex]

very exciting to hear what the 3rd world iPhone will have.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

very exciting to hear what the 3rd world iPhone will have.

The "Dollar Tree iPhone", as Jon Prosser has dubbed it. ?

I guess the excitement for a spec bump on the super boring SE 2020 is really just a result of the Apple product drought that is Q1 2022 so far.

God, I hope the March 8 even is more than spec bumps*

*Yes, I will count the next SE as a spec bump if it's just another new iPhone 8 no matter how they name it.

But also crossing fingers that the leakers were completely off and Apple bamboozles us with something more than that.

 

[VertPin]

I did not and obviously iPhone 8 is the closest to SE20-22 of the lot. The point I was trying to make is that this design is old and based on the same old iPhone 6 frame.

My apologies, no worries.

 

[libmanj]

Hoping for an SE that has the dimensions of the Mini someday relatively soon.

 

[traveltoromantis]

This makes me wish I got the 2020 iPhone SE on July 2020.

So the contract would end in 5 months & it included the later removed 12W charger & earbuds.

A 24 month A15 iPhone SE contract at $20.00/month with 20GB data would be awesome!

12W? It only ever came with a 5W charger, at least in the United States.

 

[deconstruct60]

Hoping for an SE that has the dimensions of the Mini someday relatively soon.

If Apple keeps the iPhone 12 mini around and sinks the price to $499 there inst much of a gap there ( SE with 5G at $399 ). It would at least take another year for another $100 reduction . Apple will probably want to squat on a 2022 revision for 2 years . So 2024 would not be relatively soon . About a year out of sync for a body change . Utility of touch id going up over last two years doesnt help move the current version out either.


edit
PS to further control costs there is pretty good chance Apple is going to hold bigger change for when they have their own modem that has shippped in volume. again 2024 more likely window .

 

[whatgift]

Personally I think the iPad Air is a pointless segment in the iPad line, purely available to justify the ridiculous price of the Pro models. For most people, the base model iPad will do what they need (consume content).

 

[rr23]

I totally agree (I also have the SE1 at the moment).

I suggest people try the iPhone 12/13 mini side-by-side with the SE2.

To me, after using the mini for a while, the SE2 actually feels smaller and lighter, even though it’s not.

I can’t explain it. Could be the overall shape that makes it look thinner. It could be a combination of looking thinner, having Touch ID, and being more ergonomic (to me).

 

[Tulani]

I suggest people try the iPhone 12/13 mini side-by-side with the SE2.

To me, after using the mini for a while, the SE2 actually feels smaller and lighter, even though it’s not.

I can’t explain it. Could be the overall shape that makes it look thinner. It could be a combination of looking thinner, having Touch ID, and being more ergonomic (to me).

The protruding camera on the mini is not really an ideal design for such small devices I think.

Makes “everything” chunky.

 

[mectojic]

Lightning to phono. It works even on 2016 SE like yours and mine. Solutions exist.

Edit: either lightning to phono plug, or lightning to phono jack. Or even Bellkin's lightning to phono jack+lightning jack for audio and charging. Sure, a little more ridiculous, but still doable.

Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable (1.2m) - Black

Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable 1.2m Black - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

store.apple.com

View attachment 1955144

Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

store.apple.com

Belkin 3.5 mm Audio + Charge Rockstar

Belkin 3.5 mm Audio + Charge Rockstar

The Belkin 3.5 mm Audio + Charge RockStar offers dual functionality for charging and listening to your iPhone or iPad. Buy online now at apple.com.

store.apple.com

View attachment 1955148

All those options are less convenient than simply having a headphone jack built in. Any kind of adapter defeats the feel and usability of a phone.

 

[sudo-sandwich]

Lightning to phono. It works even on 2016 SE like yours and mine. Solutions exist.

I have those. They're annoying to carry around and use, and that's the goal. Apple just wants to sell AirPods.

 

[cocoua]

Apple knows screen size and battery life are the top features people seek in a smartphone.

No matter how modern and updated the iSE22 is, those two features are decisive

ISE22 is already old.

 

[Jonkil]

Apple know when they finally drop Touch ID that they will loose literally millions of clients who got to be loyal iOS devotees ….. are they ready for that? Are they willing to loose that demographic?